You and Me Make an Us
by EliadetheAkuma
Summary: Mary Lane lives in the town of Headwick and is a prostitute serving the higher ranking men of town. But when she meets Hansel will she fall in love? Or will she just be his mistress?
1. You

**_You  
_**

_**"Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye." -H. Jackon Brown, Jr.**_

The sun cast a warm light across the land, eradicating the dark, mysterious shadows from it, as though cleansing it from sinister evil. The dark that many were afraid of became light, pure and bright. Evil just seemed to become a sick, mock nightmare.

As early as it was, the town was already thriving. Merchants, bakers, dress makers, accountants, and bankers were all walking the streets of the quaint town of Headwick. Headwick was a shabby-looking town, with the rotting housing and starving people who sat on the sides of the streets. There were some people who were able to afford all the things they required but very few of them lent those services to those who couldn't afford it. It wasn't like it was illegal, it was just that the majority of the people who had these services were very selfish. There were some people who did allow the poor and sick to use their showers and to eat their food at their table with their family, such as the baker's wife, Mrs. Martin. Mrs. Martin and her husband, Mr. Martin had three young kids, all of their ages ranging from two to six. They were very kind and often were the ones to feed the starving people, throwing overcooked or unsold loaves of bread to them and inviting them to dinner.

Another one of these people was a Miss Mary Lane. She was a young woman in her 20s, yet was unmarried. The services she could afford were consistently lent to the poor and her house was often considered a haven for the sick, poor and hungry. It was known by all the reason that she could afford her large house and the services: her occupation. It was a known fact that Mary was a prostitute, and the mistress to all of the high-ranking men in town. Even the mayor and sheriff frequently requested and paid for her services, in cash or in other ways such as her new shower.

Even though Mary was a prostitute, an outsider could ask anyone and they would say that she was the sweetest woman in the world, always thinking about others beside herself. She was so selfless and was the pride of the town, no matter what she did to earn her money. She brought new meaning to a "good hooker" or "hooker with a heart of gold". She genuinely loved everyone in town and had taken in every orphan child she found.

"Here she comes, George." Mrs. Martin called to her husband as she leaned out the front door of their small shop, spotting the female coming. She was taking an apple from Mr. Halstrom, the fruit vender. A sweet, red-glossed smile covered her peach baby-face and her chocolate-brown eyes were dripping as though made of the sweetest chocolate in the world. Her peach skin was glossy underneath the heated rays of sunlight, resembling a sheet of protective, plastic material. Her dark, raven-black hair was worn in a wavy, cascading style with her bangs pushed to the sides of her face, the strands coming to the edges of her lips. She was dressed in an earthy-looking dress with gold embroidery that pooled at her feet and she carried it over the mud and puddles. She walked gracefully, a wicker basket on her left arm as she walked through the venders towards the bakery, accepting her usual orders on the way.

"Hurry, George. She's almost here." Mrs. Martin tried to hurry her husband along. The large man known as Mr. Martin grabbed the big loaf of cinnamon bread from the oven and tossed it onto a plastic wrapping prepared for the specific bread just barely coming out of the oven. He quickly walked over to it and used his large, beefy fingers to hurriedly wrap the bread up and send it down the counter towards his wife. She grabbed it and hurried towards the ajar door.

"Miss Lane! Oh Mary!" Mrs. Martin called to Mary, causing her to turn and smile at Mrs. Martin.

"Oh, hello, Mrs. Martin! I'm fine on bread for another week...is my order still in for next week?"

"Oh yes, of course." Mrs. Martin stepped down the rickety steps towards Mary and held out the cinnamon bread, the smell practically bursting through the packaging. "George and me wanted to, uh, thank you for letting us eat with you last night."

Mary laughed. "Oh, it was no problem. You really don't need to give me this."

"Please accept it...on the account of Laura. She asked George and me to make it for you."

Mrs. Martin knew she had convinced her when she smiled and nodded, holding her hands out for the bread.

"Careful, it's hot." Mrs. Martin murmured, placing the bread in her smooth hands. Mary flashed one more smile.

"Thank you, Karen."

"Your welcome, Mary. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will, Mrs. Martin. Good-bye." Mary walked on, waving goodbye. Mrs. Martin waved back as she continued up the steps of the bakery, heading inside the warm, sweet-smelling shop. George stood at the counter, waiting for his wife to confirm that Mary had taken the bread.

"Karen? Did she take the bread?"

Mrs. Martin laughed. "She did."

* * *

"Six children have vanished on the outskirts of town, in the woods. We have sent out three search parties, but none of them have come back." The mayor explained to the two witch hunters as they sat in his office.

"Six children and three search parties, huh?" Hansel questioned, looking at his sister.

"That's a lot for one witch." Gretel confirmed.

"Could be three." Hansel suggested.

"I don't know how to handle it or anything like that so that's why I called in you guys."

"Well we will get into that soon." Gretel began. "But are there any places we can stay for the time we are here? We need to be able to set up..."

"The inns are full but there is one place."

"What place?"

The mayor sighed. "It's the residence of Mary Lane. She takes in a lot of the poor and sick but I'm sure she's got enough room for you two."

"Alright then, let's go."

"Hang on." Hansel said quickly, a soft alarm going off. He pulled out a syringe and pressed it into his thigh, before pushing whatever it was into his blood stream. The mayor watched with curiosity but said nothing.

"Now, we can go."

The both of them gathered their things before following after the mayor out of the office.


	2. Me

**_Me_**

**_"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself." -Harvey Fierstein_**

"You have got be fucking kidding me!" Gretel yelled, entirely shocked at the largeness of the house sitting before them. A rose garden lay before them in the front yard and they stood underneath a white arbor gate which had fencing connected to it that surrounded the entirety of the house. Hansel stared in the same shock, not even knowing that houses could be this big. It was almost like the town stacked on top of each other, with old windows and creaky shutters. The paint job on the house looked brand new, with the wood being a brown and the shutters a beige.

"Didn't I mention that Miss Lane's residence is home to many children?" The mayor questioned, beginning the walk up the dirt pathway to her door. Hansel and Gretel followed, observing the delicate roses growing around the path. Upon reaching the doorstep, they could hear the laughter of children.

"How many children live here...exactly?" Hansel asked, glancing at the many windows on the house.

"No-one really knows. She takes in more children every day." The mayor replied, reaching for the lion doorknocker. "There is said to be over a thousand children here."

He hit the doorknocker on the door three times before stepping back. They waited only for a minute and then the door opened to reveal a young woman appearing to be in her teens. She was dressed in a maid outfit with a white bonnet atop her brown head. Her face was of a darker color than that of most and her eyes were a chocolate-brown. She had a healed scar on her left cheek, and she appeared to have several other scars on her arms which showed almost proudly.

"Ah, Mr. Abbot, good evening." She greeted, opening the door wider.

"Hello, Kenya. Is Mary here?"

"Oh, yes. She's out back with the children." Her accent coated her words, making them flow like honey. Her voice was pleasant and refined, despite her young age.

"I see. Thank you very much, Kenya."

She bowed her head once and closed the door.

"Alright; I guess we're headed out back then." The mayor, Mr. Abbot stepped down the steps with Hansel and Gretel in tow before taking a dirt path along the front of the garden. The path led around the side of the house towards a big, green backyard filled with short grass. Trees resembling apple and pear trees grew around the perimeter of the backyard acting like a fence. The moment they got close to the backyard, they could hear chanting of 'Ring around the Rosy'.

"So it seems Mary is playing with the children." The mayor spoke, a soft smile coming to his face at the thought of the beautiful, sweet woman dancing around with the children. They rounded the corner and instantly saw the woman they were searching for, surrounded by a small group of children rotating around her. Her dark black hair was pulled into a single braid at the bottom of the back of her head, with a single rose stuck in the braid. Another rose held the left side of her bangs back while the opposite side hung over the side of her face. She had changed into a more outdoorsy dress that's purposed seemed to be for playing outside with the children. Her face was beautifully complimented by a broad smile, one that was caused by the children and was for the children. She spotted the mayor and his guests and quickly moved to speak with them.

"Hazel, move for a moment so I can go speak to our visitors." The little girl with short brown hair stood aside for Mary to pass. Mary bent to Hazel's level and touched her face.

"I'll be right back, okay?"

Hazel nodded, her hazel eyes sparkling with certainty. Mary then walked away from the children toward her visitors, allowing the children to resume their game without her. She made her way over to them.

"Good day, Mr. Abbot. What brings you to my residence?" She asked, cocking her head in a laughing way.

"Oh, yes. Miss Lane, this is Gretel and her brother, Hansel. I have hired them to find the children that have disappeared."

Her eyes softened at the mention of the child disappearances, but her smile didn't fade. "Nice to meet you, Hansel and Gretel. I'm Mary Lane. Welcome to my home."

"The pleasure's all mine, Miss Lane." Hansel replied in a rather dreamy voice, making Gretel shove him.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Lane." Gretel said, speaking more gruffly than her brother.

"Let me guess, Mr. Abbot. You need them to stay at my home because the inns are full?" She questioned, raising a perfectly thin black eyebrow.

"Y-yes, Mary. If that may be possible?"

"Well, of course they can stay! I'd be glad to help...anything for the children..." Her voice became softer towards the end of her sentence.


End file.
